


from the sidelines

by ClairvoyantDreamer1011



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, Good Parent Maryse Lightwood, Happy Ending, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Hurt Alec Lightwood, Hurt Magnus Bane, M/M, Nobody cried in the making of this fic, POV Isabelle Lightwood, Protective Isabelle Lightwood, Supportive Isabelle Lightwood, Supportive Maryse Lightwood, except me, i hope nobody cries too much, just a tiny bit of Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 19:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15031328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClairvoyantDreamer1011/pseuds/ClairvoyantDreamer1011
Summary: Isabelle Lightwood loved Magnus Bane since the moment he pointed at her brother with a sly smirk playing on his glossed lips in that dingy apartment. Her dear brother had froze; his eyes wide and his teeth trying to bite back the smile threatening to escape as he looked somewhere between flattered, shy, annoyed and terrified at the same time.Jace – the oblivious idiot he was – missed all of this, of course. But Isabelle definitely didn’t miss a single thing.She never did.(Or)Five times Isabelle Lightwood watched Magnus and Alec's relationship grow into one of history's most beautiful love stories.





	from the sidelines

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, here's a new fic that nearly killed my eyes to finish up in the car. Turns out road trips are amazing when you're not busy writing a 3k-word fic. I apologize for any grammatical and spelling errors but other than that I hope you enjoy it!

Isabelle Lightwood loved Magnus Bane since the moment he pointed at her brother with a sly smirk playing on his glossed lips in that dingy apartment.

For the entire evening, Izzy had rambled on and on to Alec about what to wear to Pandemonium. As usual, the older Lightwood had rolled his eyes and brushed her off with an exasperated sigh as he reiterated the same four words she’s been hearing since they were old enough to go out on missions together, “It’s just a mission.”

Isabelle went into a fit, her hands flailing as she all but shrieked, “It’s Magnus Bane’s party, Alec! You know, Magnus Bane, one of the most powerful warlocks of all time, party extraordinaire, sexiest man alive as voted by Downworld News?” She paused, glancing sideways at Alec to see if he caught on. He merely responded with a shrug.

“Not interested,” he replied, his eyes flicking form left to right, the barest glimpse of his apprehension at their conversation breaking through his nonchalant façade for a short second before it was gone. “At the Downworlder gossip you were talking about, n-not Magnus,” he quickly stuttered out.

Izzy wanted to smack her brother.  _Did he really think she wouldn’t know?_

“Trust me, brother, everyone is interested in Magnus. Did you look at the pictures Hodge showed us just now? That man is delicious,” she sighed dreamily. “Too bad I’m not into older men. But I’m sure he’s your type?”

Alec glared at her, his voice hard, “I don’t have a type, especially not with men.”

_Oops, pushed a bit too far there._

Their conversation had ended there and Izzy had almost given up hope on ever helping Alec come out from the closet he was so insistent on hiding in.

But then they met Magnus.

And oh, how Izzy wished she had recorded the moment the warlock flashed a flirtatious smile at Alec. Her dear brother froze; his eyes wide and his teeth trying to bite back the smile threatening to escape as he looked somewhere between flattered, shy, annoyed and terrified at the same time.

Jace – the oblivious idiot he was – missed all of this, of course, what with him being so head over heels for Clary at the time. Plus, he was still reeling from the shock of being passed over for Alec. But Isabelle definitely didn’t miss a single thing.

She never did.

* * *

 

“It’s about Magnus,”

And suddenly, all the dizziness and discomfort she was feeling was gone. Izzy looked at her brother, concern shining from her eyes as she silently prayed that nothing bad had happened.

But then she saw him frown and bite his lip, his eyebrows drawn tight together in a helpless expression of confusion and nervousness, and she _knew_. Alec rarely ever showed emotion, especially not in the Institute where he had to be the perfect soldier, but Izzy could always read him like an open book and just looking at Alec, she knew something was off.

_Oh, no._  Her first thought was that Magnus had broken up with her brother and in an instant, fury raged in her mind as she contemplated more than a dozen ways to slowly murder that good-for-nothing, playboy warlock, to hell with the Accords. Nobody had the right to make Alec smile and laugh and pine and  _love_  only to leave him when they were done playing with him.  _Nobody._  Not even the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Oh, how Isabelle was going to tear him –

“– the right time?” Alec had blushed and Izzy had never felt more relieved. Because despite all the rumours and gossip about the warlock, Izzy had suspected since the moment Magnus crashed Alec and Lydia’s wedding that he would move heaven and earth if it meant keeping Alec safe and happy. The nervousness and fear that he would be too much – or too little – for Magnus nearly broke her heart as he admitted that this would be his first time.

It wasn’t her first time seeing her brother vulnerable in the Institute, but it was the first time he willingly let her see how scared he was in a place where emotions were nothing but a distraction. She remembered the first time he’d said that, the day she witnessed his panic attack after fighting with their mother, his face blank and his eyes empty. But now, the Alec standing before her has come so goddamn  _far_ , and she was so, so  _proud_  of him.

Not wanting to freak Alec out, she quickly asked him about Jessica Hawkblue, a teasing lilt to her voice as she punched the older shadowhunter in the shoulder. She feigned surprise when he hesitated at affirming his first time with “Jessica” while mentally rolling her eyes at the fact that Alec never realized that neither Jace nor herself had ever believed him when he told them about his first time with the enigmatic, strong, witty, raven-haired, brown-eyed shadowhunter from Idris Academy.

But now, as she watched her brother walk out the Institute to find his warlock boyfriend, she supposed that he had found that Jessica Hawkblue he made up, after all.

* * *

 

To be honest, she shouldn’t have been surprised when Alec turned up at the Institute late. And she shouldn’t have been surprised that he would be glowing just a little bit after his first time with Magnus.

But she was. And so was the entire Institute along with her.

Because Alexander Lightwood wasn’t just late, he turned up mid-afternoon with a lopsided smile on his face and his hair dishevelled beyond measure as he greeted everyone when walking – “He was skipping,” Jace had cackled, a devilish grin on his face. “Skipping, Izzy!” – to his office, leaving them all dumbfounded by the usually stoic shadowhunter.

For a full minute, everyone merely stared at the door where Alec disappeared into, mouths open in a mixture of confusion and shock, before Jace whistled loudly, breaking the silence. “Was it just me, or did any of you see that huge hickey on his Deflect rune?” he asked, eyes sparkling with mischief. The newest recruit, Lin, replied in affirmative with an appreciative nod before ducking his head and scurrying out the room in embarrassment.

Izzy sighed and told everyone to get back to work before rushing over to Jace, his grin matching her own as she asked, “Did they do it?”

“Oh ho, they more than just did it, I could feel Alec’s high for hours,” Jace drawled. Izzy laughed, “I don’t know whether I should feel happy or grossed out that Mr. Repressed Virgin has finally died,”

“It’s kind of in between at the moment considering how I can  _still_ feel his giddiness right now,” Jace said, pausing for a moment before he scrunched his nose. “God, how much sex did they even have last night?”

“Quite a lot,” Magnus replied casually, scaring the crap out of Jace as he shot Izzy a blinding smile. It’s been months since they first met but damn if Magnus still remained as one of the most beautiful men Izzy’s ever laid her eyes on, especially with the spattering of love-bites decorating his neck and collarbone.

“Speaking of which,” he winked at Izzy, causing Jace to gag behind his back. The warlock merely flipped him off before continuing, “Have either of you seen Alexander? He may have left something at my place when we were –“

“He’s in his office!” Jace practically shouted, shoving the warlock in the direction where Alec had went before Magnus decided to share more of their…ventures in the bedroom the night before.

“Well then, goodbye, Isabelle darling, we’ll chat later, I hope,” he said, his eyes twinkling in delight before he sauntered away to enter Alec’s office.

Jace sighed, “At least we got him out of here before he decided to share more,”

Izzy glanced at him in surprise, “I thought you of all people would be interested in Alec’s sex life, considering how you’ve been the one pushing him to get one,”

He groaned and ran his fingers through his hair, making Izzy chuckle. “Trust me, I would have loved to know more if I hadn’t known how intense it was going to be through our bond. I could practically feel – oh,  _no_ ,” Jace stared at Izzy in horror. “Oh, no,  _not again_ ,”

Izzy’s eyes practically bulged out of her head. “They’re at it right  _now_? In the  _Institute_?” she nearly screeched. “Oh, my God! I need to tell Clary!”

Ignoring Jace’s pleas for her to help him, Izzy went to the training room to search for the red-head. Along the way, she bumped into a very frazzled and blushing Lin. Curious, she stopped. “Hey, you okay? You seem a bit...” she gestured at his very red face.

“Um, I d-don’t –“ he stuttered, his face flushing an even darker shade of red. “I passed by Mr. Lightwood’s office and I, um, heard some noises?”

Izzy’s eyes lit up and she cackled.

* * *

 

Isabelle winced as her brother slammed the door to his office. She shared a glance with her mother before sighing.

Worried, Maryse Lightwood tugged gently on her daughter’s arm, concern clear in her eyes as she asked, “Is everything okay between Alec and Magnus?” Biting her lower lip, Maryse quickly added, “I don’t want to assume anything but with Magnus missing yet another family dinner and Underhill telling me about Alec’s increased visits to the Hunter’s Moon lately, I hope nothing bad happened,” she ended, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried not to let her fear for her son’s relationship show.

Weeks after Lilith was finally defeated and Clary was rescued from Jonathan’s clutches, everyone had thought life was finally settling down. Alec remained as the Head of the Institute, his Downworld Cabinet growing more successful and famous in the Shadowworld despite some scuffles with Lorenzo as the new High Warlock of Brooklyn.

(Izzy had wanted to laugh at the irony when she saw Maryse sneer at the new High Warlock with utmost disdain upon their first meeting, a scowl on her mother’s lips as the older Lightwood claimed that no one will ever best Magnus Bane at his job, especially not a third-rate lizard-faced wannabe magician. She remembered Alec’s proud smirk and later on, Magnus’ delighted grin when they recounted the incident to him. It was one of the only times he had smiled since he came back from Edom.)

In fact, Alec’s new policies had made the New York Institute emerge as the top Institute in the country, if not the world. Their cooperation with the Downworld had made missions much easier with the increased intel from the different factions and their casualty rates had decreased tenfold. Despite the Clave’s initial hesitance at appointing an openly gay Shadowhunter who was also dating the former High Warlock of Brooklyn, Jia Penhallow has stressed that it was time for them to start over, reevaluate their misgivings and reform themselves.

Jace was recovering thanks to Clary’s help; Simon was doing better and was currently acting as the temporary Head of the New York vampire clan until Raphael returns; Luke got back his position as the Alpha of his own pack; her mother was working as Luke’s assistant in the police department thanks to Magnus and Catarina; and Izzy felt...content. More than she had since a very long time.

But then, Alec started coming into the Institute with his shoulders sagged more often. And on more than one occassion, Izzy could hear his ragged breaths through his office’s door. According to Maryse, who started visiting Magnus almost every week, the former warlock wasn’t doing a good job of pretending to be fine. He was suffering the worst out of all of them, and Izzy’s heart shattered to think how Alec must be constantly blaming himself for forcing this upon the love of his life.

Shaking her head, Isabelle looked at her mother sadly, “No, they’re not okay,” And suddenly, tears started welling up in her own eyes as sympathy for her brother and for Magnus began suffocating her. “In fact, I t-think they’re both breaking and there’s nothing any of us can do for them. I don’t want Alec to lose the one good thing he finally gets to have in his life, But Magnus –” she broke off, unwilling to continue that train of thought.

Maryse ran her fingers through Izzy’s hair, a comforting gesture that she hasn’t done since she was a child. “They’ll get through this. I _know_ they will. But you have to understand that Magnus is going through the biggest change in his life. He lost everything,” she said, her eyes distant. “He plays it down whenever we see him but he needs time, and he needs _Alec_ ,” she emphasized. “They need each other now more than ever. But trust me when I say this, Magnus will never abandon Alec. _Never_. That man loves Alexander more than anything, and they will come out stronger, Isabelle, okay? But for now, I think your brother needs you.” Maryse smiled encouragingly. Her features seeming to have softened throughout the weeks of her deruning.

Izzy looked down, guilt creeping up on her. She couldn’t believe she had doubted Magnus. Or Alec.

She took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll talk to him,”

When she entered Alec’s office, she wasn’t expecting to see him looking at his phone, a small smile on his face. But the closer she got to him, the more clearly she saw how wet his eyes were and how his eyelashes were clumped together.

“Alec?”

Her brother’s neck snapped up and he quickly shoved his phone into his pocket, a smile plastered on his face as he greeted her, “Izzy! Is everything okay?”

She suddenly realized that every time she went to see Alec, he would always put her well-being first, asking after her before brushing her off whenever the topic turned to him. It dawned upon her that nothing was ever about Alec, it was always about Magnus, then their family, then the Clave, but never had it occured to her that Alec never seemed to give a damn about himself, even when he was breaking down.

“No,” she replied. Alec immediately stood up to get closer to her, his arms ready to hold her close to comfort her. “No, everything is not okay because you’re not okay, Alec.”

Alec flinched, his eyes looking away as he clenched his jaw. “Brother, if you need to take time off to spend with Magnus, Jace and I are always happy to –“

“It’s fine, Izzy, Magnus and I are fine,” he forced a smile and Izzy exploded.

“Neither of you are close to fine! You’ve got all of us worried sick, Alec! Underhill and even Maia are concerned about all your excessive drinking and Magnus can barely get out of your apartment without panicking,” she ranted as Alec stood in shock. “Both of you need help. And I know you said you’re fine, and I know both of you will be one day, but that isn’t today. It’s barely been two months, and neither of you are acknowledging that you’re struggling,”

Hearing her brother’s choked sob, she leaped forward to hug him tightly. “I-I can’t look M-Magnus in the eye anymore, Izzy,” he sobbed. “Not after what I made him do. I’m the monster here, not Lilith, not Asmodeus,”

“Nobody makes Magnus do anything,” she said and Alec chuckled softly into her shoulder, “He made that choice because that man loves you and he would do anything to protect you,”

“Did you know he actually had another choice?” Izzy pulled back to look at her brother in surprise. Alec and Magnus had never mentioned that to any of them before. Alec choked out a brittle laugh, “Asmodeus offered to give Magnus enough power to banish Lilith if he – if he agreed to stay in Edom to rule with him. And he said no.

“He said no because of me. And he lost his powers, his immortality, everything because of me!” Alec cried.

“Have you asked Magnus if he actually felt that way? Or are you assuming he blames you?” Izzy snapped. “If I have learned one thing from Magnus Bane, it is that he is most probably blaming himself for making you pull away. That his new status as a mortal is turning you away because he’s different now.”

Alec shook his head, frantic, “No, I would never –“

“I know you wouldn’t, but does he know that?” Izzy shot him a sad smile.

Alec opened his mouth, and closed it. His eyes widened with realization as he blurted, “I need – I need to see him, oh, God, Izzy, I need to _tell_ him,”

Izzy grinned, “Go ahead, big brother, I’ll take over for you,”

Alec gave her one last hug before running out the door, shouting a quick “Thank you!” before he slammed the door close on his way out.

A few hours later, Jace stormed up to her, with a panicked Clary behind. “Isabelle, Alec just blocked off our bond and I can’t feel anything I think something’s happened to him we need to send a search party now –“

Isabelle couldn’t stop laughing for the rest of the day.

* * *

 

“Magnus Bane!” she shrieked, marching towards said warlock as he glanced up from his potions.

“Isabelle, darling, I’m sure everything –“ he started, sweat forming on his brow as he took in the petite brunette’s infuriated state.

“Please tell me you did not get married with my dear brother without telling any of us,” she gritted, her eyes the equivalent of knives.

Magnus gulped, he opened his mouth to reply. Only to have Alec stroll in right that moment with a relaxed smile on his face as he leaned over the table to give him a kiss, completely oblivious to their visitor. “How’s Mr Lightwood-Bane today –“

Magnus winced.

“Alexander Gideon Lightwood! You got married without having me plan the wedding? Oh, you’ll be a dead shadowhunter by the time I’m finished with you! I cannot believe you two!” Izzy screeched, outraged that she had missed the opportunity to plan the biggest wedding of the century. “Wait till I tell Mom, she’s been dying to help plan then entire thing with me. And Magnus,” she whirled around to glare at the petrified man who shot his husband a terrified look before smiling at Izzy, a placating hand raised to calm her down.

Oh, no, he did not. There was no way either of them were escaping this.

“Magnus, if you dare tell me to calm down, I will not! I can’t believe you two would –“

“Izzy,” Alec interjected, a wide grin on his face. “We got married, yes, but we never said we weren’t going to have a wedding after we got our papers signed,”

Izzy gaped at him, then at Magnus, then back at him. Magnus shrugged, his arm casually wrapping around his husband’s waist as he leaned his head on Alec’s shoulder. “What my husband means,” Alec beamed at him, leaning down to kiss his forehead. “Is that we couldn’t wait for the Clave to finish all the paperwork for us to get married, what with the Clave’s productivity, we’ll be old men by the time our papers are approved,”

“So,” Alec continued, still smiling giddily. “We decided to get married the mundane way. Clary suggested the idea when Magnus complained about the issue to her,”

“Besides, Isabelle darling,” Magnus winked. “Did you really think that just because I no longer have my powers that I won’t be having the wedding of the century?”

Isabelle beamed at them both.

“I always thought you two would have the perfect fairytale ending,” she quipped.

Magnus looked up at his husband, and Izzy sighed dreamily at how stupidly in love they still looked despite having been together for three years.

Izzy thought about how the younger shadowhunters were always whispering in admiration and envy about the Head of the Institute’s love story with the former High Warlock of Brooklyn; about how, despite all odds, they fell in love and stayed that way even when the world threatened to tear them apart; about how they saved the world and each other again and again and again.

Fairytale romance, indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, do leave a comment below to tell me your thoughts. Constructive criticism is always welcomed. Until next time!


End file.
